Elise Mertens looks to continue her superb run of form as she enters the 2021 Australian Open first round against Leylah Fernandez on Tuesday, February 9th 2020. Will Mertens continue to dominate in her matches, or will we see a shocking upset here in the first round by Leylah Fernandez?
Leylah Fernandez has been playing some good tennis, reaching the later stages of the WTA Grampians Trophy, but falling short against a very much in form Maria Sakkari. Fernandez is not usually a main WTA Tour player, but she rather focuses on the smaller tournaments which are not televised. Fernandez will be looking to make 2021 the best season of her career but she will have to find a way of keeping up this pace of play in every match she plays, otherwise she will not stand a chance against a very stacked and extremely competitive WTA Tour in recent years.
Elise Mertens is coming off of the back of a victory at the WTA Gippsland Trophy, winning the title on Sunday in superb fashion. Mertens only lost 1 set along the way and she did not disappoint in her performances. Mertens is known mostly for being a strong doubles player, but with this title victory under her belt straight away this year, she will definitely be looking to get some more singles matches under her belt. Mertens is a very unorthodox player, and because of her doubles background, she sees the court in many different ways, which only singles players do not see.
This is going to be the first meeting between both players, and unfortunately for the Canadian, Leylah Fernandez, Elise Mertens is going to run away with this match in the first round. Mertens has been in incredible form, and she will be very confident and motivated to keep this momentum going as she knows she can get a big pay check from the Australian Open if she is able to replicate some of the success she showed last week. Fernandez still has a long way to go in her career if she is to compete with the best, but at the moment she is not there. Elise Mertens to win.